Holiday Nostalgia

As I sit here on this cold, wet day here in Hawaii - well, my iPhone says it’s 66 degrees so that’s a bit chilly for us - I am feeling a bit nostalgic for the days when our boys were little, and Christmas was such an exciting time of the year. Now our sons are adults, our grandsons are growing up in another state, and the excitement and anticipation of that special day has waned for me. 

This is also the time of year when we receive holiday cards or newsletters from those we may not have seen all year. Of course, with social media, we have been able to keep in touch with many of our friends and relatives, so the number of cards we receive are getting fewer as we get older. 

If you read my book “Leading with Aloha: From the Pineapple Fields to the Principal’s Office” you may remember that my husband, Randy, was in politics, first in the City Council and then in the State Senate. This morning, I was reminiscing about the years when our sons created the original Christmas cards that we sent out to his colleagues as well as our many supporters. So I decided to take a trip down Memory Lane and explain a bit about each card. 

  

Justin wrote this poem for our first Iwase original card and I decided to cross-stitch and frame it. I have too many holiday decorations especially since we don't put up a tree anymore, but I do display this cross-stich  every year.. One day, Justin will take it for his home, but I'm not ready to part with it yet.  

Those who live in Hawai`i know that sign-waving is a staple during election season. Jarand took this idea and created this original card with a Hawaiian Santa campaigning for Randy. It was a hit!

This was the outside of the card . . .

. . . and this was the inside.

Jordan was 6 years old when he did the artwork, and Justin was 16. We loved that Jordan thought of this all by himself, and the picture was so cute, don't you think?  At the time, using the computer to create something like this concrete/shape poem was a challenge, and we were impressed with what Justin came up with.  

Randy heard from other legislators about how much they loved this card! 

Jarand did not know how he could follow-up his Santa sign-waving card so I suggested he didn't have to do a drawing. After much prodding, this is what he came up with. It is definitely a different look from our previous years' cards.

Jordan was 8 years old when he drew this picture and wrote the poem for our annual card. By then, Justin and Jarand were in high school, and they were busy with other activities so Jordan willingly agreed to do the card by himself. 

When Justin drew the picture for this card, we were becoming a golfing family. It started with Randy getting hooked on the game, and eventually, all of us enjoyed golfing as a family. Today, Randy and I enjoy golfing in our retirement. P.S. Looks like Santa's got a pretty good swing!

Hmm . . . didn't we see this before?

Yes, the outside was the same, but the inside message was different!

Our last original Christmas card was sent out in 1998. The poem explains why we recycled an old design for the outside. 

* The poem was a collaboration between all of us. 

I am grateful that we kept these cards. They bring back fond memories of Justin, Jarand, and Jordan's creative ideas when they were younger. Sigh . . . they grow up too fast.